15 Apr 2009

Federer chooses clay court Masters over honeymoon

6:19 am on 15 April 2009

The world tennis number two Roger Federer has decided to spend his honeymoon in Monte Carlo which might not be surprising, but he's there for work on his least favourite surface.

Three days after marrying his longtime girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec in a low-key ceremony in his hometown of Basel, Federer is playing in the Monte Carlo Masters, the first event of the clay court season, looking to bury memories of his French Open final ordeal last year when he won just four games off Rafael Nadal.

Federer hasn't won a title this year and smashed a racquet in an out-of-character outburst at the recent Miami Masters, but his main rivals insist he's still a supremely formidable opponent.